A Day Off
by jellyfishfarts
Summary: I cannot think of good titles or summaries, just read it! ITS PEPPERONY! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TOO!


Well hello there! Alright, I gots some serious talking to do here! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you guys for all your amazing reviews and comments, you really don't know how much I appreciate them and I'm so sorry I don't reply to all but I hope to cover most questions in this little rant right here!

1. Ok, I'm doing a lot of one-shots right now but I hope to start a ligit chapter type- thingy at some point. Would it be weird if I did a Christmas thing during summer? Cause I have an idea but I don't want to have a Christmas special right now, haha. Your thoughts? Anyways, I have one story that has two parts so I'll try to get that up for you guys.

2. For all of those loverlies out there wondering if Tony and Pep will kiss anytime soon. I'm going to make you WAIT! Muwhahahahahahahaha! Just kidding, I love you guys :-D No, the reason they're not gonna kiss soon is because I'm just having to much fun letting them flirt with each other! Don't despair, we'll get there at some point ;-)

Alright, to end this, I will say two things. One, I'm sooooo sorry I haven't been on in like forever! But finals are OFFICIALLY OVER, and that means I got nothing to do but edit crap (ew) and post it for you guys! YAY FOR YOU! * cries about editing*

And two, AVENGERS AVENGERS AVENGERS AVENGERS!

That's it! Thanks for being patient with me guys, and I will get some quality chiz up soon! For now enjoy! I love you all like….acquaintances, or pet goldfish, or my favorite soda…

PEACE OUT!

_The paint was __**chipping**_**.**

Tony was in the garage, repairing his suit from his last mission. The titanium was riddled with bullet holes, warped from a car that had landed on him, and was still giving off smoke, but worst of all, _the paint was __**chipping**_. And that was not ok.

Dummy stood nearby, beeping and whirring as if having a separate conversation with himself.

Tony ignored him and continued working diligently, tightening a bolt on one of the boots.

Suddenly, he heard the familiar click of Pepper's heals coming down the stairs. He tried to suppress the grin that had spread across his face and restore the illusion of calm. Dummy heard Pepper as well and whizzed with excitement.

Within the next minute she was at the door, punching her confirmation code into the keypad. She came in with a few papers attached to her clipboard, her Black Berry in her hand.

"Hey, Pep." Tony greeted her nonchalantly.

"Hey, I need you to- oh," Pepper said running into to Dummy who had rolled himself over to greet her. "Hi, Dummy," Pepper muttered.

"DUMMY! GO!" Tony snapped at the robot. Dummy sadly lowered his mechanical arm and rolled himself over to a different part of the garage. "Anyways, you were saying?" Tony asked.

"I need you to sign some papers, and we need to talk about the conference with the people from the Klide Company." Pepper said typing on her Black Berry.

"Ugh, I hate the people from the Klide Company, they're all idiots." Tony said reaching for another wrench.

"Tony, you say that about every company we talk too," Pepper said, too tired to put effort into arguing with him.

"Yeah well, you know…" Tony trailed off, not feeling like arguing himself.

"Yeah, I know," Pepper mumbled.

"Alright, what you got for me?" Tony said putting down his wrench and grabbing a pen from near by.

Once the papers were filled out and Pepper and Tony had come to a mutual agreement on the conference with the Klide Company, Tony grabbed some more tools and began working on his suit again, as Pepper collected the papers that were now scattered across the table.

"What are you doing right now Pep?" Tony asked as he tightened a screw. Pepper gave him a quizzical look.

"What does it look like?" She replied. The phrase was meant to be sarcastic, but it didn't come out sounding like it.

"You know what I mean…" Tony muttered.

"Well, I was going to go up and do more paper work-,"

"Ew, boring."

"Then I have to call the company and tell them that the meeting you were supposed to have last week that you postponed to this week is going to be postponed again, thanks for that by the way, you know, 'cause it's always so much fun when you give me another thing to argue with the company about-,"

"You're so very welcome."

"And I still need to go pick up your dry cleaning."

"What dry cleaning?" Tony said looking up from his work.

"That tux that you wore last week at the gala at the, um, the-,"

"Oh yeah, yeah that thing-,"

"Yeah, that one-,"

"That we went to-,"

"Yeah, that one."

"Gotcha. Why was that at the dry cleaners?"

"You spilt wine all over it."

"I did?"

"Yes, you were drunk."

"Oh…Funny. I don't remember that part." Tony said reaching around for a screw driver. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Anything else you want me to add to my list of things I need to do for you?" Pepper asked, a professional tone taking hold of her voice.

"No, no, well, I was going to ask if you'd make more coffee, but I won't make you do that." Tony said with a wave of his hand. Pepper didn't respond right away so Tony looked up at her. She was smiling.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." She said quietly. It was Tony's turn to smile his classic, crooked smile.

"You're welcome, Miss Potts." He replied.

"Well, if that's all, I will leave you to your work." Pepper said with a sigh.

"Ok, see ya Pep," Tony called as she headed for the door. She responded with a wave over her shoulder. Tony listened to her heals click against the floor as she made her way to the stairs. It was then that he noticed something was off. Very off.

Quickly he put down his tools and wiped his hands on a rag nearby.

"Pep! Hey Pep, wait up! Potts! Yo!" He called as he caught up with her just as she reached the stairs. Pepper flipped around to face him.

"What? Oh wait, let me guess. You decided you want coffee now, didn't you. Just give me a minute and I'll-," Pepper said about to turn for the stairs again.

"Wait, wait. I just wanted to ask you a question." Tony said, trying to keep her attention.

"Oh, well, what is it then?" Pepper said crossing her arms. Tony stared a moment, feeling a little flustered, unsure of how to approach what he wanted to ask

"What's wrong with your foot?" He asked. It sounded more blunt than he had wanted. Pepper's brow became stitched together.

"What-?"

"Your foot, what's wrong with it?" Tony asked again.

"How-how did you know there was something wrong with my foot?" Pepper asked, not sure how to respond.

"Your heels, your 'clicks' were off," Tony said as if this was something that was very obvious.

"My… 'Clicks' were off?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"Yeah, the sound your shoes make when you walk. They were off beat. I could tell you were limping." Tony stated matter of factly. Pepper just stared at him as if he had just announced he wanted to move to Tibet. "So, what did you do to your foot?" Tony asked for the third time.

"I, I tripped the other day, but its fine." Pepper forced out. Tony shot her a look.

"You're lying. It isn't fine, I can tell." Tony said crossing his arms. Pepper sighed with aggravation.

"Tony, please don't make this a big deal. It's really not that bad." Pepper said taking a step back.

"I'm not going to make a big deal; I just want to look at real fast." Tony said dragging over a stool from his work table. He patted it, signaling for Pepper to sit down. She did so, after a moment of hesitation.

"This is really unnecessary." Pepper mumbled as Tony ignored her and squatted down to get a better look at her foot. He very gingerly removed her navy blue heel and then rolled up her pants leg. He knew instantly that she had twisted it. It was red and swollen and he grimaced at the sight. Then, with hands used to working with delicate pieces of metal, he felt his way along her ankle, applying very small amounts of pressure. He reached a tender spot and she cried out.

"You definitely twisted it." He said after he finished. Pepper released an angry moan. "How bad does it hurt?" Tony asked taking off her other shoe.

"…Bad," She mumbled.

"Jeez Pep, how have you been managing while wearing heels?" Tony asked standing and dusting himself off.

"I'm a big girl," Pepper retorted. Tony snorted.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you don't feel pain. Alright, let's get you up stairs so we can wrap you up. Do you think you can walk anymore?" He asked, taking her hand.

"Really, it's not that bad." Pepper said as she let him help her up into a standing position. Tony looked down- a lot further then normal.

"You're short," he said.

"And you're observant," Pepper said rolling her eyes.

Pepper proceeded to take a few steps towards the stairs. She stopped short, taking in a deep breath, her face scrunched. Tony looked at her expectantly. "Ok, maybe it is that bad…" she muttered, her voice choked with pain.

"Here," Tony said grabbing her arm and slinging it around his shoulders. Then, with one easy movement he grabbed underneath her legs and lifted her.

"Tony! Put me _down_!" Pepper cried as he scooped her up in his arms.

"Oh, ok. How you going to get up the stairs? Fly?" Tony scoffed. Pepper made a sound at the back of her throat but didn't try to get down. Tony then began carrying Pepper up the stairs and into the living room. He set her gently down on one of the couches. "I'll go find some bandages."

Tony rummaged around in the bathroom and returned a few moments later.

"Hey Pepper, I just realized something…" Tony said walking down the stairs.

"What?" Pepper asked.

"I have no idea where the first aid kit is…" Tony mumbled. Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You seriously don't even know where your own first aide kit is?" Pepper said crossing her arms. "How long have you lived here?" Tony just stared for a moment. Pepper leaned back with a sigh.

"It's in the cabinet below the sink in the bathroom."

"Which bathroom?"

"Your bathroom."

"Really? Huh, wish I had known that earlier." Tony said heading for the upstairs.

He returned with the first aide kit in hand and seating himself at Peppers feet, began digging through it until he found bandages. Once her ankle was wrapped up neatly, Tony sat next to her on the couch and turned on the TV. Then he put his hands behind his head and leaned back.

"Oh, no. No, no, what are you doing?" Pepper said, throwing Tony and incredulous look.

"What?"

"You are _not_ going to sit here and watch TV. I have got _way_ too much work to do, and if you aren't going to let me do it, then_ you_ are going to have to," Pepper said waggling a finger at him.

"Oh come on, Pep, please just let me-,"

"No! No, I refuse! One of us is going to have to do some work!" Pepper protested.

"Pepper, we are not doing any work!" Tony said.

"Yes we are!" Pepper said, hoisting herself from the couch. She began to hobble towards her desk, but Tony grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Oh, no you don't. Look, you need a chance to heal and I'm going to make sure you stay here and get better."

"Tony, it's a twisted ankle, it's not the flu. I'm still functional." Pepper said trying to get up again.

"It doesn't matter. You work too hard as it is, and you deserve a rest now more than ever."

"Ok fine, I'll rest for the sake of my ankle. But you should be doing something productive."

"Yeah, I'm catching up on _Game of Thrones_." Tony said laying his arm over Peppers shoulders in order to keep her seated. Pepper squirmed underneath his grasp.

"That's not work! I mean, have you seen the mountain of paper work on my desk? And I already explained to you all the other stuff I have to do to-," Tony clapped his hand over Peppers mouth.

"Pepper, listen to me. I am your boss and I am telling you that you are taking the rest of the day off, and so am I. We are going to sit here and watch TV, and it's going to be great. Tomorrow I'll handle all the paper work." Tony trailed off. Pepper froze upon hearing his words.

"What?" Pepper asked turning towards him.

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I said that we are taking the day off and I'll handle the paper work tomorrow." Tony said turning his gaze back to the TV. Pepper's jaw dropped.

"You mean that? You're joking, aren't you? I mean, you aren't really going to do that paper work. You're just saying that so I'll sit with you and do nothing and then I'll have to do all of it tomorrow anyway, right?" Tony raised a brow.

"No, I mean I'll handle the paper work…" Tony repeated slowly.

"Really?" Pepper asked.

"Look, I know I can be a jerk, but I'm not that much of a jerk." Tony said crossing his arms. Pepper smiled

"…You're not a jerk…" Pepper mumbled, leaning on him. Tony readjusted again so that he could lay his arm across her shoulders.

"Yeah, well I try." Tony muttered. Pepper snuggled into his side.

"Thank you," she said as she reached up and lightly pressed her lips to his cheek. He went rigid for an instant but then relaxed into her. A contented smirk crossed his face.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome." He said dismissively. Pepper sighed and leaned into him more.

A half an hour later, Pepper heard a rumbling coming from deep within Tony. She looked up to see him with his head laid back, snoring softly. She thought hard about sneaking away to do paperwork, but she knew he would wake up as soon as she moved. And even if he didn't, she wouldn't make it very far on her ankle. In the end, the decided to stay where she was and enjoy her day off.

Soon, Pepper was snoring softly too.


End file.
